Hamas politburo chief Khaled Mashaal said there is no real progress in talks for the release of captive Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, despite recent reports to the contrary.

In an interview to Qatari newspaper al-Watan, that will be published in full on Sunday, with parts of it published on the Hamas website Thursday, Mashaal said mediation efforts in the matter were ongoing, but that no real progress has been made.

He said this was due to "the manner in which the Zionist enemy's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is handling the matter.'

Mashaal added that Netanyahu believes he can force Hamas to lower its demands with regards to the release of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Shalit.

In recent days there have been extensive reports, especially in Arab media, of progress towards signing a prisoner exchange deal that will secure Shalit's release. A Palestinian newspaper even estimated the deal will be signed by the end of this month.

According to the report, the three-stage deal will begin with an Israeli medical team leaving for the Egyptian city of al-Arish in order to meet Shalit and perform necessary medical tests prior to transferring him to Cairo.

Israelis sources prefer to refrain from making public statements on the matter. But one source confirmed to Ynet that negotiations for a deal were ongoing.

Noam Shalit, the captive soldier's father, said at a rally at the Western Wall last night for his son's 23rd birthday that he and his family were not optimistic